https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22 Instruments of the Orchestra en-us 2017-02-04 22:24:33 UTC 2024-10-18 04:22:23 UTC hello@padlet.com william_sarjeant https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151629440 2017-02-04 22:25:58 UTC https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151629440 william_sarjeant https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151629450 - The violin is the smallest instrument in the string family.
- Highest-pitched instrument in the string family.
- You will find more violins in an orchestra than any other instrument, normally 24.
- Treble clef.]]> 2017-02-04 22:26:16 UTC https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151629450 william_sarjeant https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151629751 - Widely regarded as one of the greatest every violins, Maxim Vengerov has made a career out of tackling the hardest pieces and playing them with seemingly as much ease as riding a bike!
- Maxim Vengerov also remains one of Mr Sarjeant's favourite musicians, and actually wrote to him as a six-year old who had just started learning the violin...but Vengerov never wrote back!]]> 2017-02-04 22:35:41 UTC https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151629751 william_sarjeant https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151629805 2017-02-04 22:38:04 UTC https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151629805 william_sarjeant https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151629809 - Same shape as the violin, but larger.
- Deeper tone and lower pitch.
- The viola doesn't have the highest string you'll find on the violin but has one string lower than the violin. 
- Music for the viola is written in the alto clef.]]> 2017-02-04 22:38:19 UTC https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151629809 william_sarjeant https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151629955 - In all honesty, they are extremely similar. The only way to tell them apart is by listening to them and hearing their differing timbres over and over again.
- The violin is brighter, whereas the viola has a much broader, more mellow sound.]]> 2017-02-04 22:43:36 UTC https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151629955 william_sarjeant https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151629988 - What would you do if, right as you were about to finish a solo on stage, a mobile phone rang in the audience? Ignore it? Walk off stage? How about play it back to them?
- In the case of Lukas Kmit, that's exactly what he did! 
- Oh, and he's also playing a viola! Listen and compare this deeper timbre to the violin, right before his moment of improvisation!]]> 2017-02-04 22:44:38 UTC https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151629988 william_sarjeant https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151630072 2017-02-04 22:47:29 UTC https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151630072 william_sarjeant https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151630080 - Larger still, the cello (pronounced 'chello') is played between the legs, with a spike supporting the instrument on the floor.
- The cello shares the same strings as the viola, except each string is an octave lower.
- Bass clef.]]> 2017-02-04 22:47:43 UTC https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151630080 william_sarjeant https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151630380 - When it comes to cello playing, these two have reinvented the wheel in terms of technique. They are probably amongst the best in the world in their art.
- This video will demonstrate two things. It will show you how low a cello can play...as well as how far Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser are willing to go up the fingerboard]]> 2017-02-04 22:59:24 UTC https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151630380 william_sarjeant https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151630440 - One of the greatest, if not the greatest there has ever been, in the history of cellists.
- If you think 2Cellos were insane, then this will blow your mind even further! 
- Played at a furious speed and with some of the music written in the treble clef (because the notes are so high) Rostropovich doesn't even break sweat...and he's nearly 70 in this video!
- Popper (composer of this piece) wrote a cello book of exercises which many cellists live by as their technique bible, even to this day. The pieces in this book have every technique you could possible need, the idea being if you could play these studies...you could play anything!]]> 2017-02-04 23:01:31 UTC https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151630440 william_sarjeant https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151630556 - When Mr Sarjeant started on the violin, classical music didn't really appeal to a 5 year old. Fast folk music did!
- Here are a particular favourite from the Celtic region of Scotland. Blazin' Fiddles. 
- Incidentally, Bruce MacGregor (second from the right, glasses, waistcoat) gave Mr Sarjeant a masterclass when he was 9. ]]> 2017-02-04 23:06:31 UTC https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151630556 william_sarjeant https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151630650 2017-02-04 23:10:32 UTC https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151630650 william_sarjeant https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151630654 - Largest instrument in the string family.
- Lowest-picthed instrument in the string family.
- A 3/4 size double bass is so big it is taller than most men. Most professional double bass players are not tall enough for a full size double bass!
- Bass clef (another full octave lower than the cello).]]> 2017-02-04 23:10:59 UTC https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151630654 william_sarjeant https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151630690 - If you thought carrying around a few books at school was hard work, try getting a double bass into a normal-sized family car...or onto a bus or train!
- Music for the double bass is limited. However, a composer called Camille Saint-Saens wrote a series of pieces entitled 'Carnival of the Animals'. Each piece focused on a particular animal, the solo part for which was played by an instrument which reflected the animal's characteristics.
- One of these pieces was written entitled The Elephant', so the only instrument up to the task of recreating the large, clumsy antics of an elephant, was the double bass!
- Listen to the introductory spiel by the guy with the moustache. Whilst he speak with a monotonous voice, what he is saying makes a lot of sense! Feel free to stop the video after 3 minutes!]]> 2017-02-04 23:12:39 UTC https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151630690 william_sarjeant https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151630829 - All these instruments use a bow. This is the piece of wood held in the right hand.
- Part of the bow is made out of horse hair. In order for the hair to be able to grip the string, resin is applied the the bow by the player each time before playing.
- If a player is simply using the bow to play the notes, this is called arco.
- Similarly, if the player is instructed to use their fingers to play the notes, they will pluck the string. This technique is called pizzicato.
- There are different types of bowing techniques; legato (playing smoothly), staccato (short notes), detaché (bouncing the bow off the string) and col legno (using the wood of the bow...but very gently to avoid breaking it)!

]]> 2017-02-04 23:18:23 UTC https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151630829 william_sarjeant https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151630967 2017-02-04 23:24:47 UTC https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151630967 william_sarjeant https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151630978 - The standout instrument of the string family, in that this instrument does not share any similarities in how it looks to the others!
- Whilst the other instruments only have 4 strings, that harp has 47.
- That means the range of the harp is large; it can play as high as a violin and as low as a double bass.
- Because of this, music for the harp is written on two staves (one treble, one bass), just like a piano.
- The harp is played using the fingers. This technique is called plucking, or pizzicato.]]> 2017-02-04 23:25:19 UTC https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151630978 william_sarjeant https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151631177 - This is a harp arrangement of the symphonic poem 'Vltava' by the Czech composer Bedrich Smetana.
- The Vltava is a river which runs through Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic.
- The music was written as a symphonic poem, meaning that it was based upon an idea, a piece of art or a piece of literature. 
- In this case, the piece is based upon the Vltava river. As you listen, try to see how Smetana has recreated the ebb and flow of the river in the music, as it goes on its journey.]]> 2017-02-04 23:34:02 UTC https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151631177 william_sarjeant https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151631289 - This is the final movement 'Rigaudon' of the Holberg Suite for string orchestra, composed by Edvard Grieg.
- As well as being a piece solely for strings, this particular movement includes a solo for a violin and a viola. See if you can spot them.]]> 2017-02-04 23:40:24 UTC https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151631289 william_sarjeant https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151631338 - There are many different combinations and sizes of string ensemble. Many composers have written for ensembles of string instruments smaller than that which you would find in an orchestra.
- In the case of Mendelssohn, he wrote a piece of music for an octet (8 strings).
- The octet is comprised of; 4 violins, 2 violas and 2 cellos.
- This is the final movement of a four-movement work. ]]> 2017-02-04 23:42:59 UTC https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151631338 william_sarjeant https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151631395 - One of the most common genres and ensembles in string music is the quartet.
- There are two violins, a viola and a cello.
- Haydn was a pioneer of almost every genre going during the classical period. He composed over 100 symphonies (including 6 dedicated to London) and 68 quartets! To put that into context, Mozart only wrote 41 symphonies and 23 quartets (I say only...)!
- One of Haydn's most famous quartets is called 'The Joke'...see if you can see why!]]> 2017-02-04 23:45:32 UTC https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151631395 william_sarjeant https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151666150 - Best example of pizzicato in this video, from the guy carrying a cello with a strap!
- Incidentally, the other string instrument is a banjo]]> 2017-02-05 15:56:53 UTC https://padlet.com/william_sarjeant/mnb05hczta22/wish/151666150